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The 2013 London Bird Report is now out - to get a copy please click here. Friday 17th July 2015 * Old pitch and putt course Hackney, junction of old river Lea and flood relief chanel: 2 Peregrines plus 2 Kestrels all probably juveniles, saw the Peregrines in the same place 2 weeks ago. (Jean-Patrick Elmes) *Brookmill Park: Little Egret, 2 Stock Dove, 2 House Martin (first of the year) 4 Blackcap, Goldcrest juv, Coal Tit, 30 House Sparrow (Conrad Ellam) *Ewell Village: 44 Common Swift sw, 1 singing Blackcap, 2 Grey Wagtail, 2 Grey Heron, 2 Stock Dove, 1 Southern Hawker Dragonfly (Neil Batten). *Hackney Marshes/ Old River Lea: 1 Little Egret in the river below the end of the Flood Relief Channel, 2 Kingfishers flying together on the river just below the Middlesex Filter Beds, Black-Headed Gull numbers now up to about 30 on the marsh and river, all adults so far (Alastair Dent) *Walthamstow Res: Adult male Whinchat 400m North of South end of Lockwood ares, on Brambles on West side, 3 Common Sandpipers. 2 Lapwing by the hide on the East Warwick. Hobby over Filter Beds. (Paul Whiteman) Thursday 16th July 2015 *Brent Reservoir: Coal Tit (on route to hide - unusual), 5 Common Tern, 3 Green Sandpiper, 2 Common Sandpiper, 3 Little Ringed Plover (inc. 2 juv), 1 Redshank, 1 Little Egret, 2 Egyptian Goose (Roy Beddard); (p.m.) Redshank still (plus other wader species as above), 1 Greylag, 2 Little Egret, 1 Common Gull (ad.) (Andrew Haynes). *Leyton Flats/Snaresbrook: 2+ Siskin high West, Treecreeper, Nuthatch, Kestrel, Common Tern, f Whitethroat carrying food, 17 Mute Swan (Stuart Fisher) *Redbridge Lakes and Roding Valley Park, Woodford Bridge: Reed Warbler, 2 Linnets, Swallow, Jay, Song Thrush, Chiffchaff, 2-3 Long-tailed Tits (Alan Hobson). *Regent's Park: 1 fem Mandarin plus nine ducklings on Regent's Canal, 2 singing Blackcap, and c50 Starling in Snowdon Aviary (John Colmans) *Trent Park: Red Kite, Kestrel, 25 Goldfinch, 4 Common Swift., Song Thrush, Mandarin. ( Pete Lowman). *Wanstead Flats: Swallow east (first returning bird of the autumn), 8 + House Martin, 20 + Swift, f Pochard still with 3 young, Egyptian Goose, Common Gull, Kestrel, 6 Skylark, 2 singing Meadow Pipit (Nick Croft) *Wanstead Park: first returning Willow Warbler of the autumn, 4 Reed Warbler, Grey Wagtail, 6 Great Crested Grebe, 3 Little Grebe, Sparrowhawk, Kestrel, 11 House Martin, 10 + Swift (Nick Croft) Wednesday 15th July 2015 *Blackwall Beach (below 02 Arena): Yellow-legged Gull 8 (3 juveniles), 1 Common Gull, 1 Swift (N P Senior) *Bow Creek Ecology Park: Common Sandpiper 4+, Blackcap family group of 5, Whitethroat 1 juvenile, Reed Warbler 5 singing (N P Senior) * Claybury Park: 2 Blackcaps, Lesser Whitethroat, Green Woodpecker, 5 Swifts, Great Spotted Woodpecker and at least 3 Purple Hairstreaks (a lifer for me) (Alan Hobson). *Deptford Creek: 1 Little Egret (John Archer) *East India Dock Basin NR:Peregrine 1 male, Kestrel 1 male, Shelduck 1, Green Sandpiper 1 adult briefly Common Gull 3 adults West Common Tern 12 adults 1 juvenile 8 chicks on the raft, Sand Martin 2, Blackcap 2, Reed Warbler 3 singing (N P Senior) *Enfield Ridgeway nr Botany Bay: Red Kite 830 am (Brian Dawton) *Gallions Reach: 4 Oystercatcher, 16 Common Tern, 50+ Swift, Hummingbird Hawkmoth. (Gary A James). *London Wetland Centre: Hobby over SW, Kingfisher, 30 Swift, 3 House Martin (WWT website) *Frognal, Hampstead, NW3 2 Tawny Owls *Walthamstow Reservoirs: Hobby drifting S at 15.30, c40+ Black-headed Gulls heading North, c20 Common Terns, 2 Common Sandpiper (Lockwood); 52 Mute Swans (High Maynard); 2 Reed Warblers, 2 Kestrel, Jersey Tiger Moth (East Warwick/No 5 - Lol Bodini). Tuesday 14th July 2015 *Alexandra Park: Little Egret over Tunnel Res at 10:50, Common Tern (Henry Wyn-Jones), Hobby, apparent sub-ad Yellow-legged Gull briefly on roof of Thames Water building with other large gulls (Dominic Mitchell) *Boxer's Lake, Enfield: imm Cormorant, Grey Heron, 3 Mandarin Duck 2 fem 1 juv, 5 Tufted Duck 2m 3f, Common Gull 1st-summer, 2 Black-headed Gull, Common Tern adult, Swift, Great Spotted Woodpecker juv, 5 Mistle Thrush flew over (Robert Callf) *Brent Reservoir: 5 Little Ringed Plover, 4 Green Sandpiper, 3 Common Sandpiper, Little Egret, 3 Lapwing, 7 Common Tern, c80 Swift, 2 House Martin, Garden Warbler. (Steve Blake) *Canary Wharf: Peregrine 2 juveniles in recent days male & female with adults in attendance, Yellow-legged Gull 5- 1 ad, 1 2nd summer and 3 juveniles Millwall Outer Dock, 2 Common Terns, 16+ House Martins (N P Senior) *Brookmill Park: Little Egret, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Song Thrush, Blackcap, Goldcrest (Conrad Ellam) *Grand Union Canal Ladbroke Grove W10 2 Egyptian Geese(F.O'Sullivan) *Greenwich Park: juv Peregrine, presumably one of the Lewisham birds, causing a scene, also Tufted duck (pinioned bird) with 2 small young, 2 broods Moorhen, 3 broods Mallard, juv Dunnock fed by adults (Joe Beale) *Enfield EN3 Elliotts field allotments Peregrine low over driving starling flock crazy 1pm ( Brian Dawton) *London Wetland Centre: 9 Shoveler, 17 Teal, Gadwall 4 broods, Tufted Duck 11 broods, 200 Swift, 7 Siskin West (R.Kaye) Common Sandpiper main lake (Martin Honey) *Rye Meads: Garganey (BirdGuides) *Staines Reservoirs: 4 Black-tailed Godwit, 1 Greenshank, 7 Redshank, 4 Little Ringed Plover, 1 Yellow-legged Gull ad, lame individual, on N basin mid pm. 2 Black-necked Grebe on S basin. (Dom Pia, Franko J Maroevic) *Trent Park: Common Tern, Common Buzzard, 2 Common Whitethroat, Song Thrush, 3 Chiffchaff, Swallow, Blackcap, 7 Mandarin, 25 Goldfinch, 6 Ringlet, 15 Gatekeeper, 10 Meadow Brown, 8 Lge White. ( Pete Lowman). *Walton-on-the-Hill: 1 Common Crossbill (Steve Gale) *Wanstead Flats: singing Reed Warbler on Alex (Dan Hennessy) *Westminster: Adult Mediterranean Gull low north over Lambeth Bridge at 10:10 (Andy Holden) Monday 13th July 2015 *Brent Reservoir: Little Egret, 4 Green Sandpiper, 3 Common Sandpiper, 3 Little Ringed Plover, 3 Lapwing, 9 Common Tern, Garden Warbler singing, 60+ Swift (Andrew Verrall). *Chelsea Bridge Wharf: Peregrine flying between buildings, Grey Wagtail (Neil Anderson) *Rainham Marshes: 2 ad male Common Scoter circling Thames 07:23, between Purfleet & Rainham (Fraser Simpson), 9 Eurasian Whimbrel commuting between Aveley Bay and Dartford side, 27 Yellow-legged Gulls near stone barges (all ages but just one juvenile) and another on the Dartford foreshore, and singing male Corn Bunting on fence 100m west of Wennington Mound (Dominic Mitchell) *Rotherhithe: near-adult Yellow-legged Gull on mud by Hilton Hotel early evening; also adult Common Gull on Greenland Dock (Richard Bonser) *Rye Meads: Garganey (BirdGuides) *Staines Reservoirs: 2 Black-necked Grebe, 2 Whimbrel, Redshank, Black-tailed Godwit flew east (Twitter) Sunday 12th July 2015 *Blackheath Vanbrugh Park: 4 Siskins over (Joe Beale) *Brent Reservoir: 4 Green Sandpiper, 5 Common Sandpiper, 5 Little Ringed Plover (incl.1 Juv), 10+ Common Tern, 1 Garden Warbler (Roy Beddard & NW London RSPB). *Brookmill Park: 2 Little Egret, Sparrowhawk, Kingfisher, Great Spotted Woodpecker, 3 Swift, 2 Song Thrush, 3 Blackcap (Conrad Ellam) *East India Dock Basin NR: Shelduck 1, Egyptian Goose 2, Tufted 9, Little Ringed Plover 2, Common Sandpiper 1 briefly, Common Tern 18 ads 1 juvenile 7 chicks on the raft, Swift 5, Blackcap 2,Reed Warbler 14, Linnet 3 (N P Senior) * Greenwich: 13+ Yellow-legged Gulls (2 near adults, 1st-summer and 10+ juvs) on mud by O2 late a'noon; also juvenile Herring Gull and singing Reed Warbler (Richard Bonser) * Ickenham Marsh: Kestrel pr, Linnet, Bullfinch, Little Egret (Nigel Dodd) * London Wetland Centre: 12 Teal, Common Sandpiper, singing Blackcap (WWT website) Green Sandpiper (Steve Woolfenden) * Mudchute Park: Blackcap 6, Chiffchaff 2, Siskin 2 over SW (N P Senior). *Osterley Park: Chiffchaff singing, 2 Common Tern, Common Whitethroat, 5 Egyptian Goose, 2 Green Woodpecker, 3 Grey Heron, Greylag Goose with Canada Geese, Herring Gull, 13+ Jackdaw, Kestrel, 2 Lesser Black-backed Gull, 15 Mandarin, Pochard, 2+ Ring-necked Parakeet, 2 Swift (Richard Woolley). * Stratford, Olympic Park: Kingfisher, 120-180 Goldfinch (mainly juveniles) on the wildflower seed pods, 2 Linnet, Little Egret, Little Ringed Plover, Kestrel, f Peregrine, pr Stock Dove (Stuart Fisher) * Rainham Marshes RSPB reserve: Three Whimbrel, five Black-tailed Godwits (incl bird ringed/flagged in Iceland), Green Sandpiper, Greenshank, two Oystercatchers, three Little Ringed Plover, 26 Little Egrets, two Common Terns (Sean Huggins); also adult Mediterranean Gull, Ruff and 1+ Siskin (David Campbell). * Ten Acre Wood area: m Pheasant, 2 Buzzard, 4 Lapwing, 2 Little Ringed Plover, record 15 Collared Dove flew out bushes as I passed down track, Skylark, Swallow, Rook, 3m Reed Bunting, c15 Linnet (Neil Anderson/Nigel Dodd) * Wanstead Flats: 11 House Martin, 10 + Swift, 4 singing Skylark (2 carrying food, both Six-belted Clearwing), Tufted Duck with 4 young, f Pochard with 3 young, 2 Kestrel (Nick Croft) * Wanstead Park: 2 Kingfisher, Little Egret, 6 Great Crested Grebe, 2 Little Grebe, Sparrowhawk, pr of Kestrel with presumed young, Hobby, 2-3 Reed Warbler, 6 House Martin, 20 + Swift, Grey Wagtail (Nick Croft) * Yeading Brook meadows: Red Kite hunting over meadows + briefly dropped into garden near football pitch, 2 singing Skylark, 50+ Goldfinch (Neil Anderson) Also KIngfisher (Nigel Dodd) Saturday 11th July 2015 * Blackheath Vanbrugh Park: flock of Siskins heard overhead. (Joe Beale) * Bookham Common: Turtle Dove ' '''heard singing' briefly from private property near Merrit's Cottage, Buzzard, pr Little Grebe with 6 new young, f Tufted Duck with 8 ducklings, family Treecreeper, 17 butterfly species with 5 Purple Emperor(Neil Anderson/K. Bull) * Brent Reservoir: Nuthatch over Birchen Grove, later in Oakwood, 4 Little Ringed Plover, Little Egret; also 71 Ringlet (Andrew Self, John Gravett) * Brookmill Park: 2 Little Egret, Great Spotted Woodpecker, 6 Blackcap (Conrad Ellam) * Dagenham Chase: '''Great White Egret (BirdGuides) * Epping Forest near Connaught Water: Buzzard, 2 Blackcaps, Jay, Song Thrush, 3 Swifts, Swallow, Goldcrest (Alan Hobson). * Greenwich: 8 Yellow-legged Gulls (near-adult, 2 1st-summers and 5 juvs) on mud by the O2 mid a'noon (Richard Bonser) * Gunpowder Park: Little Egret, Common Buzzard, Hobby, Rook, Yellow Wagtail (male), Treecreeper, 2 Garden Warbler, 2 Willow Warbler, Siskin over north, Bullfinch, Yellowhammer, 2 Reed Bunting (singing), (Neville Smith). * London Wetland Centre: Common Sandpiper, Green Sandpiper, Little Ringed Plover, Kingfisher. Peregrine & Hobby also seen (Martin Honey) * Rotherhithe: 2 Common Terns Surrey Water (Richard Bonser) * South Lodge Farm, Enfield: 5 Barn Swallow adult and four newly fledged juveniles (Robert Callf) * Snaresbrook: Treecreeper heard in Gilberts Slade (Stuart Fisher/Margie Baum-Fisher) * Staines Reservoirs: 1 Black-tailed Godwit, 2 Redshank, 1 Ringed Plover, 5 Little Ringed Plover. Whimbrel heard only, 3 Greenshank flew over W late evng. 1 Mediterranean Gull ad, 3 Yellow-legged Gull ads, all on N basin late evng and 3 juvs flew over earlier in evng. 2 Black-necked Grebe on S basin. (Rob Innes, Franko J Maroevic) * Stratford, Olympic Park: 6-7 Siskin '''in birch then flew north, 2+ Reed Bunting, 9+ Reed Warbler (incl. young), c60 Goldfinch, 3-4 House Martin, 5 Sand Martin, 12 Pied Wagtail, 2 Stock Dove, 3 Linnet, f Gadwall flew S along river, 3 Tufted Duck, Little Grebe (Stuart Fisher) * Walthamstow Marsh: 2 Green Woodpecker on path near Ice Centre, several House Martin and Swift over River Lea, 1 Linnet (Michael Rank) * Walthamstow Reservoirs: 3 Common Sandpipers and 350 Tufted Duck on Lockwood. 2 Lapwing north over West Warwick and another east towards No 5 or filter beds (David Bradshaw) * Wanstead Flats: Common Tern (Tony Brown) * Wanstead Park: 2 Nuthatch, 12 Purple Hairstreak in Bush Wood (Dan Hennessy) '''Friday 10th July 2015 * Ashtead Common: 2 Buzzard - including an alarmingly pale bird with white underparts and whitish tail, Hobby, 3 Purple Emperors (J.Wilczur) *Bermondsey SE16: pair Collared Dove briefly on rooftops near St James Road at 0625 – new species to the area as far as I know (John Cadera) a pair on Rotherhithe New Road earlier this year as well as around Plough Way too - still scarce though (Richard Bonser) Thanks for the info Richard. John * Brent Reservoir: Common Sandpiper behind dam (Andrew Self) * Ewell Village: 1 Swallow s. 25 Common Swift, 4 Black-headed Gull, 1 Herring Gull sw. 1 Greylag, 1 Greylag x Canada Goose hybrid, 1 Grey Wagtail, 3 Emperor Dragonflies. (Neil Batten) * Greenwich Park: 7 or 8 Crossbills low SW at 1pm (Joe Beale). *Hackney, Millfields Park: Adult Kestrel feeding 3 juveniles in poplar near the orchard. They did well to make it - I saw a Sparrowhawk raiding the nest earlier in the summer. 4 House Martins overhead (Alastair Dent) * Pinner (HA5): at least 354 Black-headed Gull north over the garden, before switching direction & became too complicated to count, 60 Swift, Sparrowhawk & Goldcrest. Also: 12 House Sparrow on the feeders (Jon Ridge). * Pinner Park Farm: 4 Red Kite, Common Buzzard, Little Owl (all three species unavoidable at the moment), 272 Jackdaw, 13 Swift, Green Woodpecker, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Whitethroat, 2 Mistle Thrush, 6 Black-headed Gull & 3 argenteus Herring Gull (Jon Ridge). *Rainham Marshes: Teal 4, Little Egret 18, Marsh Harrier 2, Peregrine 1 young female, Oystercatcher 1, Greenshank 1, Curlew 1 East, Yellow-legged Gull 2 - 1 adult 1 2nd summer, Sand Martin steady passage SW c.45, Yellow Wagtail 4 South, Grasshopper Warbler 2 reeling (N P Senior) * Roding Valley Park, Woodford Bridge: Little Egret, Jay, Song Thrush (Alan Hobson). * Rushett Farm, Chessington: c1000 Wood Pigeon in a wheat field (J.Wilczur) * Wanstead Flats: 2 singing Meadow Pipit, 2 Pied Wagtail, 3 singing Skylark, 7 Pochard (inc. 3 ducklings), Sparrowhawk, Kestrel, 6 + House Martin, 20 + Swift, 60 + Black-headed Gull, 2 Lesser Whitethroat (Nick Croft) Thursday 9th July 2015 * Brent Reservoir: Egyptian Goose, 2 Little Ringed Plovers, 1 Common Sandpiper, 5 Common Tern, Garden Warbler singing, 5 White-letter Hairstreaks on Transect (Roy Beddard, Nick Haslett) * Brookmill Park: Little Egret, Kingfisher, Swift, Song Thrush, Goldcrest, 3 Blackcap (Conrad Ellam) *Canada Water: pair Common Tern (John Cadera) *East India Dock Basin NR: Shelduck 2, Common Tern 31 including 3 juveniles & 5 chicks on the raft, Black-headed Gull 132, Swift 3, Blackcap 4, Reed Warbler 14 including juveniles, Chiffchaff 1 adult (N P Senior) *Grove Park Nature Reserve: 2 singing Blackcaps, 1 singing Chiffchaff, 1 Goldcrest (Dave de Silva) *Hackney, Millfields Park: At 13:00 Kestrels feeding juveniles birds (Marcin Kempa) *Heathrow Airport: large dark raptor thermalling over the east end of the airport being mobbed by very vocal adult Herring Gulls. The gulls here ignore buzzards. Unable to get any optics on to it. (Adam Cheeseman) * Redbridge Lakes and Roding Valley Park, Woodford Bridge: 6+ Reed Warblers (inc. a family of at least 4), 3-4 Swifts, Swallow (not that common round here), 3 Blackcaps, Chiffchaff, 2-3 Long-tailed Tits, 3 Pied Wagtails (Alan Hobson). * Richmond Park: 2 Buzzard, Red Kite, Hobby, 3 Swallow 1 lingering, 2 SW, 19''' Siskin''' - (an unusual & a good su''mmer ''record), (4 south-west and 15 in a wood, then they flew south-west), also Marbled White near Ham Gate (R.Kaye) - Well done RK - Siskins in mid summer are difficult at the best of times (JR); perhaps of interest, a flock of 20 flew west over Leith Hill today (JW) *Wanstead Flats: 3 singing Meadow Pipit, 5 Skylark, 6 House Martin, 10 Swift, Kestrel, Sparrowhawk (Nick Croft) *Southwark Park: 3 Peregrine soaring high, fm Sparrowhawk, Goldcrest, 1 House Martin (John Cadera) *Wanstead Park: 4 Little Egret, 5 Great Crested Grebe, 3 Little Grebe, 10 + House Martin, less than 10 Swift, Kestrel, 2 sets of Goldcrest, 4 + Reed Warbler (Nick Croft) 'Wednesday 8th July 2015' *Brent Reservoir: Green Sandpiper, 6 Little Ringed Plover, 3 Lapwing, 5 Common Tern & Sand Martin (Andrew Self) *Grovelands Park: 3 Great Crested Grebe pr and one large chick, 13 Mandarin Duck incl five juvs, fem Pochard, 11 Tufted Duck, Kingfisher, 2 Goldcrest adult feeding juv, 2 Nuthatch, 2 Treeceeper adult feeding juv (Robert Callf) *Hackney Marshes: At 08:00 1 Little Egret and 7 adult Black-Headed Gull on the island in the Old River Lea below the end of the Flood Relief Channel, 1 Kestrel hunting nearby, 4 House Martin over the main marsh (Alastair Dent) *Hampstead Garden Suburb: Red Kite low over Winnington Road at junction with Ingram Ave 11.45am (Ben Epstein) *Leyton Flats/Snaresbrook: Siskin flew west (presumaby the same male as seen a few weeks ago?), Kingfisher, 9 Greylag goose, 3 Tufted Duck, 7 Green Woodpecker (incl 3 juvs), Grey Wagtail (Stuart Fisher) *Motspur Park: Peregrine flying south east with prey (Bob Smith) *Rotherhithe: juvenile Yellow-legged Gull (different to y'day) and 1st-summer Common Gull off Greenland Pier (Richard Bonser & Richard Page-Jones) *Staines Reservoirs: 64 Black-tailed Godwit on N lagoon on N basin at dusk. 10 Redshank on causeway of S basin in evng. (Dom Pia, Ken Purdey, Franko J Maroevic) *Wanstead Flats: 12 House Martin, 50 + Swift, 2 singing Meadow Pipit, Pied Wagtail, 3 singing Skylark, 7 Pochard, Tufted Duck with 4 young, 5 Little Grebe, first returning Common Gull of Autumn, 40 + Black-headed Gull, Sparrowhawk (Nick Croft) *Wembley Park area: Red Kite low over at 17:25 going south (Joe Taylor) 'Tuesday 7th July 2015' *Brookmill Park: Stock Dove, 5 Swift, Song Thrush, 4 Blackcap, 3 Goldcrest (Conrad Ellam) *King George V Reservoir: ? Pacific Swift ? (BirdGuides/RBA) The news was put out as poss/prob shortly after it was first seen 08.45} I went to look for it at 11.30 till 13.00 Observer was still present when I arrived. Brief scope view and no photos. Hundreds of swifts early am but less than 50 when I arrived. (Harry Lacey) , apologies if I mispelled surname. Worth checking your local swift areas. Also others were looking this am. 1 Common Sandpiper, 1 Little Egret, 1 Peregrine Falcon. (Franko J Maroevic) *Leyton Flats/Snaresbrook: ad and juv Nuthatch, Treecreeper, Kestrel, Sparrowhawk, 2 Grey Wagtail (Stuart Fisher) *London Wetland Centre: Mandarin, 10 Teal, 11 Shoveler, 6 Gadwall broods of 6,5,5,5,3 and 2, 4 Tufted Duck broods of 8,5,3 and 1, Hobby, 34 Lapwing, Redshank, juv Yellow legged Gull, juv Lesser black backed Gull, 200 Swift, 2 and 5 juv Green Woodpecker south route. (R.Kaye, O.Dewhurst, J.Kalvins) *Rainham Marshes: Little Tern upriver 05.15 (Twitter) *Richmond Park: juv male Peregrine, Common Sandpiper, 9 Common Tern - 6 adults and broods of one & two juvs (J.Wilczur) *Rotherhithe: juvenile Yellow-legged Gull (1st of the year for site) off Greenland Pier (Richard Bonser) *Victoria Park: Two broods of recently fledged Mallard. (Matt Reed). *Wanstead Flats: 12 House Martin, 20+ Swift, Lesser Whitethroat, f Reed Bunting, 3 Meadow Pipit, 5 Skylark, 8 Pochard, 5 Little Grebe, 50+ Black-headed Gull (2 juv) (Nick Croft) *Wanstead Park: 6 Great Crested Grebe, pr of Little Grebe on nest with c. 4 eggs, Little Egret, m Sparrowhawk, Kestrel, singing Goldcrest, 40+ Swift, 4 Grey Wagtail (Nick Croft) Monday 6th July 2015 * Alexandra Park: M&F Mute swans and 4 cygnets, tunnel reservoir. (Greg Smith) *Blackheath: Juv Peregrine hunting crows (observer?) *Battersea Park Lake: 2 juv f Peregrine sitting in a tree there was also a para-lysed grey heron a foot away see video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMLHIHdLTGI also chasing crow and Lesser Black-backed Gull it also after Coot chicks, 1 Swift (Michael Mac). *Brent Reservoir: 4 Egyptian Goose, 1 Lapwing, 2 Little Ringed Plover, 7 Common Terns, at least 17 occupied nests in West Hendon House Martin colony (Bob Husband, Roy Beddard). *Stanwell Moor: Hobby, 2 Little Egret and Greenshank (C. Lamsdell) *Totteridge Valley: Red Kite, Buzzard, Grey Wagtail, 5 Swallow, Swift, at least eight butterfly species (John Colmans). *Trafalgar Square: 1 Kestrel (Dave de Silva). Sunday 5th July 2015 * Brent Reservoir: 3 Egyptian Goose, 3 Lapwing, 4 Little Ringed Plover (incl. 2 Juvs), 2 Green Sandpiper, 7 Common Tern, 80+ Swift, 10 House Martins, Garden Warbler singing (Roy Beddard). * Brookmill Park: Little Egret, 2 Mute Swan, 13 Swift, Goldcrest, Coal Tit (Conrad Ellam) * East India Dock Basin NR: Shelduck 2, Tufted 6, Black-tailed Godwit 3 circled and off East during morning rain, Common Tern 14 + 4 chicks (N P Senior) * Hampstead Heath: 3 Siskins NW over Highgate No.1 pond at 1530 (Pete Mantle) * Highwood Hill: Bizarre sight of 2 Bewick's Swan on tiny pond just W of track between Nan Clark's Lane and MEF Grassland contracting. Also Kingfisher (Matt Reed). They are captive ones, always there. Seen them several times, I agree a bit bizarre! ( Geoff Crabtree.) * London Wetland Centre: 10 Linnet over S at 1130 (Oscar Dewhurst). * Moat Mount: Coot brood on Leg of Mutton Pond. (Matt Reed). * Moat End Farm: Two Swallows leaving probabe nests in barn (Matt Reed). * Mill Hill (Sheepwash Pond): Canada Goose brood, Coot brood. (Matt Reed). * Neasden Railway Depot: Lesser black-backed Gull chick on trainshed roof. (Matt Reed) * North Finchley: Black-headed Gull over high street - summer's over! (John Colmans) * Oak Hill Park / Woods, East Barnet, EN4: Kestrel hunting over Theological grounds, count of 8 swifts, several Black-headed Gulls, Lesser Black-backed Gulls, Herring Gulls, Blackcap singing, Chiffchaff singing. (Bob Husband, NW London RSPB Group), * Staines Reservoirs: 17 Black-tailed Godwit, mostly out of view from causeway behind a shingle ridge. Also 12 Little Ringed Plover and 4 new juvs. 2+ Ringed Plover, 1 Redshank. 14 Lapwing and 4 juvs still, Shelduck and 7 ducklings, 1 Hobby, 2 Yellow-legged Gull 1 juv & 1 Ad on N basin. 1 Dunlin flew over late am and 2 Black-necked Grebe on S basin. (Dave Morris, Ken Purdey, Rob Innes, Franko J Maroevic) * Stoneyfields Park: Mallard brood, Moorhen brood, Coot brood and adult on nest (Matt Reed). * Ten Acre Wood area: 4 Little Ringed Plover (2 seen on ground + then 4 together in flight-possible family group), first 12 returning Black-headed Gull, Skylark, 2 Meadow Pipit, 4 Reed Bunting (1 singing), 10 Linnet (Neil Anderson) * Walthamstow Reservoirs: (Lockwood): 3 Peregrines (1 juv), 2 Common Sandpipers, Sparrowhawk, c20 Common Terns, c300 Tufted Duck, c20 Black-headed Gulls (at least 2 juvs). East Warwick: 3 Little Ringed Plovers, Kestrel, f Red-crested Pochard over, Kestrel, Peregrine hunting flock of 6 unidentified waders going high N (Lol Bodini, Paul Whiteman, Pete Lambert). * Wanstead Flats: Sand Martin, House Martin, 30 + Swift, 20 + Black-headed Gull (inc. 1 juvenile), 5 Little Grebe, 8 Pochard, Shoveler, Egyptian Goose, 2 singing Meadow Pipit (+ 2 more), 3 Pied Wagtail, 4 Skylark, Goldcrest (Nick Croft) Saturday 4th July 2015 *Barnet Gate: Little Grebe with two good-sized chicks on small pond just NE of Brickfield Lane. (Matt Reed). *Battersea Park: Spotted Flycatcher, north-east corner though mobile (Hugh Nicholson) *Beddington SF: Greenshank (Surrey website) *Brent Reservoir: 2 Egyptian Goose, Greylag, 3 Lapwing, 2 Green Sandpiper, 7 Common Tern, 30 Swift, Kingfisher, Garden Warbler singing (John Gravatt, Andrew Haynes, Dave Haddican, Roy Beddard). *Canon's Park: Coot brood on The Basin (Matt Reed). *Cranford CP nr Heathrow: reported on 1st July White-letter Hairstreak in Cranford Woods, but could not relocate it today. 2 Red Kites, 1 Common Buzzard mobbed by resident adult Kestrels, 2 Swallows, c10 Common Whitethroat in Headland area, 1 Kingfisher heard calling, several singing Chiffchaff (Wendy Marks - for more please see my blog. *Cross Ness: 1st-summer Common Gull, 14 Lapwing, 3 Teal (Richard Bonser). *East Dulwich: Red Kite west low over Darrell Road at 6pm (Martin Stevens). *East India Dock Basin NR: Tufted 6, Little Ringed Plover 1 juv., Common Tern 21 4 chicks 2 birds still sitting, Black-headed Gull c.80, Swift 3, House Martin 4, Sand Martin 3 East, Reed Warbler singing strongly again and feeding young - 4+ pairs, Blackcap 1 male 2 juvs (N P Senior) *Ewell Village: 37 Common Swift, 17 Herring Gull sw, 1 Kestrel, 1 Sparrowhawk, 1 Greylag, 6 Black-headed Gull, 2 singing Blackcap (Neil Batten). *Greenhill Gardens: Coot brood, Mute Swan (Matt Reed) *Greenwich: 3+ Yellow-legged Gulls (3rd-summer and 2+ juveniles), 31 Cormorants, 28 Great Black-backed Gulls and Reed Warbler by the O2 (Richard Bonser). *Gunpowder Park: 2 Little Owl (1 juvenile), 3 Treecreeper (1 juvenile), 3 Lesser Whitethroat, 5 Willow Warbler, 1 Garden Warbler, 2 Bullfinch (Neville Smith). *Hadley Green: 7 Moorhen broods on the collection of small ponds S of Hadley Highstone (Matt Reed). * Ingrebourne Valley: Wood Sandpiper (BirdGuides). * London Wetland Centre: adult Common Gull briefly, 5 adult Common Tern, 14 House Martin, Skylark heard on marsh (J.Wilczur); male Sparrowhawk hunting through Southern Route (Martin Honey). * Old Ford Pond (Hadley Green): Pair of Ferruginous Duck (!), pair of Pochard, pair of Tufted Duck on this miniscule pond.(Matt Reed). * Rayners Lane High Street: Red Kite approx. 11.30am (Dan Pinkham). * Sewardstone Marsh: 1 Little Egret, Peregrine (adult), 1 Common Buzzard (Neville Smith). * Staines Reservoirs: 2+ Ringed Plover, 8 Little Ringed Plover, 8 Lapwing on N basin mid am. (Franko J Maroevic). 8 Black-tailed Godwit on N basin in evng. (Dave Morris et al) * Wanstead Flats: Hobby, Kestrel, 2 singing Meadow Pipit, 2 Pied Wagtail, Sand Martin, 10 + House Martin, 40 + Swift, 2 singing Lesser Whitethroat, Red-belted Clearwing, 10 + Six-belted Clearwing, 4 Ringlet (Nick Croft/Rose Stephens) * Wanstead Park: 2 Peregrine Falcon, Little Egret (Nick Croft) Friday 3rd July 2015 *Beddington SF: Wood Sandpiper (BirdGuides) *Brookmill Park: Little Egret, Coal Tit, 2 Blackcap (Conrad Ellam) *Dagenham Chase: 4 Black-tailed Godwits (Twitter) *East India Dock Basin NR: Cormorant 21, Egyptian Goose pair, Tufted 8, Yellow-legged Gull 1 1st summer, Black-headed Gull 147, Common Tern 14 + 4 chicks, Swift 1, House Martin 1 (N P Senior) *Ewell Village: 2 singing Blackcap, 1 House Martin s. 9 Common Swift, 1 Greylag, 1 Greylag x Canada Goose hybrid, 2 Grey Wagtail (incl. newly fledged juvenile) 1 Herring Gull, 4 Black-headed Gull. Also 2 successful broods of Tufted Duck at Bourne Hall this year (Neil Batten) *Hackney Marshes: 9 Black-headed Gulls at 1000 at the north end of the mown area, on the cricket pitches - all adults (Alastair Dent) *Hampton Court: 1 summer plumage Mediterranean Gull and 3 Common Terns over the river. Hundreds of Small Skippers attending Hampton Court Flower Show - is this an annual occurrence (the skippers, not the flower show)? (Nick Moll) *Kingston upon Thames: 8 Egyptian Geese incl. 3 juveniles on river Thames at Royal Canoe Club opposite Lower Ham Road 18:30 (Neil Batten). *Lakeside, EN2: 5 Tufted Duck female and four ducklings (Robert Callf) *Netherhouse Farm, Sewardstone: Lesser Whitethroat family party (Martin Shepherd). *Pinner HA5: Red Kite north over the back garden at 18:31 (Jon & Nick Ridge). *Richmond Park: Little Egret, 2 Buzzard, 10 Black-headed Gull - a few present through spring, Common Tern - 2 flying young, 6 Sand Martin briefly, 5 Swallow - family party by Roehampton Gate, 6+ singing Skylark- Crown Field, 3 Meadow Pipit - a nesting pair & a singing male, male Stonechat -present since 30th June per J.Few (J.Wilczur) Little Grebe - Peg's Pond (JF) 24 singing male Reed Bunting - complete Park survey (JW, H. Bradshaw, S.Read) Short walk between Pembroke Lodge and Ham Gate - at least 6 singing Blackcap, 2 singing Whitethroat, lots of butterflies including Ringlet, Purple Hairstreak and Marbled White, also one Cinnabar moth (Martin Honey) *Sewardstone Marsh: 3 juv Swallow and 2 adults on wires at Godwin Close - bred at riding stable (Martin Shepherd). *Staines Reservoirs: 9 Black-tailed Godwit, 2 Redshank, 5 Little Ringed Plover, 11 Lapwing, 1 Little Egret, on N basin. 4 Wigeon, 3 Black-necked Grebe on S basin evng.(Ken Purdey, Rob Innes, Franko J Maroevic) *St Georges Wharf-Vauxhall: 3 Peregrine over residential flats (Michael Mac). *Wanstead Flats: 8 Pochard (plus mum and 3 young) - Does that make 12 in total? - R Callf, 3 singing Meadow Pipit, 3 Skylark, 10 + Swift, 4 House Martin, Kestrel (Nick Croft/Bob Vaughan) *Wanstead Park: 3 Reed Warbler, Little Egret, 2 Grey Wagtail, 5 Great Crested Grebe, 2 Little Grebe, 10 Black-headed Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull fishing for crayfish, Sparrowhawk, 11 + House Martin, 10 + Swift (Nick Croft/Bob Vaughan) Thursday 2nd July 2015 *Bow, Three Mills: Common Tern, Great Crested Grebe, 4 Sand Martin, Grey Heron, 11 Egyptian Goose (JW Davies) *Brookmill Park: First Black-headed Gulls of the autumn with at least 4 birds in the park, Kingfisher, 2 Swift, 2 Blackcap, Common Pipistrelle seen at dusk (Conrad Ellam) *Cockfosters / East Barnet, Herts. EN4: 2 juvenile Nuthatches coming to feeders. Also Chaffinches with 2 juvs, & Blackcap singing plus 2 juvs feeding on Rowan berries (Bob Husband) *Heathrow Airport: Red Kite along the North Perimeter Road, late AM. (Adam Cheeseman) *Leyton Flats/Snaresbrook: Firecrest, Treecreeper, 2 Nuthatch, Siskin over, Goldcrest, Coal Tit (Stuart Fisher) *Millwall Outer Dock: 1 2nd summer Yellow-legged Gull, 6 Swift, 18+ House Martin (N P Senior) *Tower Bridge: F Peregrine flew in & sat on SW white stone tower at 08:30, still there/there again at 16:30. Greenfinch in Potters Field (my first there, though probably nest north of Tower of London) House Martin over City Hall, also unusual on S side of the bridge. (Paul Whiteman) *Wanstead Flats: 6 Skylark, 3 singing Meadow Pipit, 2 Pied Wagtail, 4 House Martin, 20 + Swift, 2 Kestrel, Pochard with 3 young still even after the unwarranted attentions of a swan (Nick Croft/John Whele) *Wanstead Park: 4 Great Crested Grebe, 2 Little Grebe, Grey Wagtail, Little Egret, Kestrel, 5 House Martin, 10 + Swift, 4 Black-headed Gull (Nick Croft) Wednesday 1st July 2015 * Brookmill Park: Little Egret, Mute Swan, Blackcap (Conrad Ellam) * Greenwich: 2 (juv and 2nd-summer) Yellow-legged Gull on mud by O2 in evening; also Common Gull, 23 Great Black-backed Gulls, 50+ Black-headed Gulls and 5 ringed birds (2 from Sussex, 2 from London and 1 from Bristol) (Richard Bonser) *Ham Lands: Blackcap, Chiffchaff, Common Tern, 6 White-letter Hairstreak (John Herbert). * London Wetland Centre: report from 27 June A colour-ringed Lesser Black-backed Gull (red darvic, white NFNL) was ringed in the nest on 29 June 2014 on Havergate Island, Orford, Suffolk then seen on 17 March 2015 at Anza, near Agadir, Morocco, and again on 27 June 2015 at the London Wetlands Centre (Martin Honey & Jan Wilczur) * Regent's Park: Pochard with 5 ducklings. (Matt Reed). *Roding Valley Park at Redbridge: 5 Little Egret (at 0730, previously only seen up to 3 here), Chiffchaff, Blackcap, Whitethroat, (all numerous and singing profusely) (Malcolm Hibberd) *Stoneleigh KT17: 17 Black-headed Gull s. over 19:55. Also 9 Common Swift screaming together overhead (prob. family party from local nesting birds) (Neil Batten) * Vauxhall Bus Station: Peregrine hunting low round station area at dawn (Michael Mac). * Wanstead Flats: 6 Sand Martin through, up to 11 House Martin, 50+ Swift, 2 singing Lesser Whitethroat, pair of Reed Bunting, female Pochard with 3 young still plus 2 more females, 6 Skylark, 2 singing Meadow Pipit, Grey Wagtail, Kestrel (Nick Croft) * Wanstead Park: Peregrine over the garden (Bob Vaughan) Archived News LONDON BIRDING NEWS FROM ALMOST EVERY PREVIOUS MONTH SINCE JULY 2002 {C}